Kim, it's been decades but I do recall that the sun was used for a course correction, and Rama's velocity made the rendevous somewhat tricky. And the Ramans do everything in threes. ;o) On 11/8/10, Kim <kimharch@cut.net> wrote:
Chuck, since you're a fan of Arthur C. Clarke, maybe you can answer this one: Do you recall if Rama's rendezvous with the Sun was used for a directional, only gravity-assist maneuver, or if it was also used for a delta-v maneuver? Or, did Sir Arthur ever say in the novel?
I had a sleepless night, and I had questions come to mind about gravity-assist maneuvers, so I had to look it up this morning. I then remembered Rendezvous With Rama and the above question came to mind. However, I couldn't find an answer online; hence this post. Thought you might like to know the process that brought me to this profound question. Then again, maybe not.